It’s been a good week, yay! Most weeks are good weeks at the moment and that’s honestly such a nice change. Monday to Friday were work and school for Chris and the girls. Chris has started on shifts now and so the days of 9-5 are a thing of the past. Monday and Tuesday he was working 8am till 4.30pm and in order to get to work on time, he had to catch a train at 6.30am – meaning he was leaving the house around 6.15am. Luckily I managed to go back to sleep once he climbed out of bed but it was then a struggle to wake up again at 7.30am. However I managed and it was off to school as usual, followed by the weekly shopping. After that, the majority of the day was spent online, catching up with blogging and getting organised for the week. Finally I headed out to get the girls again from school and we came home, had dinner and then the girls had a bath. I spent the evening with Chris, watching TV and relaxing before we got an early night. Same thing happened Tuesday morning as Chris was off early. After taking the girls to school I decided to head into Lincoln for a wander around. At lunch time I went to Sainbury’s and wandered around there too, before finally heading to my mum’s and spending the afternoon with her. Since it was close to the time Chris finished work, I headed back to Lincoln and picked him up. We grabbed Burger King for dinner before heading home and then not long after the girls arrived home from an evening with their dad. My brother called around for a coffee and chat but then after that I spent the evening watching TV and on my computer.

Next day was Wednesday and after taking the girls to school, I came home to Chris who didn’t have to be at work until midday. We hung out for about half an hour and then unfortunately he had to catch an earlyish train to be at work on time. When he was gone, I started working on my t-shirt project for the week, blogging and also a little exercise. Finally I took a bath and then chilled out until Nat arrived in the evening, catching up and having a girly gossip. Chris arrived home at almost 10pm so he sat with Nat and I for a while before we all called it a night. The next day Chris and I got a bit of a lay-in, but Chris had to get up for a driving lesson and so we were awake around 9pm. I stayed in bed a little and had a lazy morning, while Chris was out on his lesson. When he came back we went to Morrison’s for breakfast and then I drove him to work.

After dropping Chris at work, I went around to Nat’s house and picked her up. We had been meaning to go into town and go shopping but since the weather was so awful we decided to go for a coffee at Asda Living and then wander around the shops there. During our time together we found out it was #WorldNutellaDay and this meant we were on the search for Nutella. Nat bought a jar and some marshmallows and as I dropped her off at her house again, she was planning on making Hot Chocolate and maybe pancakes too. I went to pick the girls up from school and once I had we went around to the newsagents and bought some “Nutella and Go” pots. Afterwards we came home and had dinner, before trying out some of my new teas (post to follow!). My mum lost her house key too and so in the end she called around to get my spare key. The girls and I started on the new Never Girls book (no. 3) and then since Chris was out again for the evening I spent the time watching TV and on my computer. When he came home I could barely manage to stay awake much longer and so we ended up watching only a little TV before heading to bed.

In the morning, the girls had Share at school, basically a half hour in the morning where you can stay and see what they’re doing in class. Mum met us at school and she went into Megan’s class, while I went into Lily’s. Our task for the morning was to build a bridge that was strong enough for Shrek to cross (they’ve been doing about Fairytales, but it was also partly a test to make something strong enough to take a weight). It was quite fun and our bridge succeeded. Afterwards I headed home and spent some time with Chris before he needed to leave for work. My new books that I’d ordered for Florida arrived and I was excited to get reading them. However I had lots to do and knew I wouldn’t be able to until later that day. I went out to get the girls from school and when we arrived home we were feeling so lazy that we ordered take away. I’d had a good weigh-in day and so I figured we should just treat ourselves. The girls got changed into Disney fancy dress as that was their task for the day and then we all chilled out until they went to bed. Finally I spent the whole evening reading my new Disney World book and texting Amy, partly because she was booking our Fast Passes for WDW at 5am the next morning! When Chris got home from work I was still reading and planning. I found myself very excited and feeling like some plans were coming together.

Chris and I headed to bed and I told Amy to text me once she’d got the fast passes booked. This meant when I woke at 8am, even though I wanted to sleep more, I was itching to check my phone. In the end at 8.30am, when I was sure I wasn’t going to be able to get back to sleep, I caved and checked my phone. At that point I became super excited as Amy had got everything booked and I could see it all on My Disney Experience app. I was determined to have a constructive weekend and so after having a cup of tea, I set to work on some clothes I would make for the girls. Megan helped me sketch out and cut out some patterns in the morning, meaning that after lunch we popped into town for a few bits we needed. Lily suggested we walked and so we did, it was nice to get some exercise. When we got back I continued cutting out material until everything was ready to make their outfits.

In the afternoon I watched Sharknado 2 and started to sew. Since I’m always a bit distracted when watching TV, it was a very slow process. We stopped for dinner with the girls and then afterwards when they’d gone to bed, Chris and I watched the new The 100 series, while I continued to sew. It got to about midnight and I’d run out of everything I could do (I needed elastic) so eventually Chris and I went to bed. In the morning I didn’t manage much of a lie-in again so I got up and got ready, waiting for the shops to open at 10am. However Chris wanted to go see his Nan and so in the end I said I would drop him off there at 11am and go shopping, before picking him up at 12.30pm. The girls and I headed to Boyes, then walked to Tesco and finally walked around Marshall’s Yard. Our biggest spend of the day was £9 in Poundland! We picked Chris up and then came home for lunch. After that I spent the afternoon and evening sewing. I did stop briefly for a few hours over dinner as we had a movie night (with pizza and popcorn) to watch Bolt. By the end of the night I’d managed to get both of the girls dresses done and I was really pleased with myself. Chris and I got way further through The 100 episodes too, so it was a great weekend.

Like I said before, all in all a good week. Of course there have been some negatives but overall the week is good and I’ve felt positive and motivated all week. Long may it continue!

Just a quickie this week as to be honest, not much has gone on (or what has gone on – with work for example – I don’t want to talk about!). It’s been a fairly regular week, with work and school and whatnot. Monday the girls had Singing Stars after school, so I took a wander around Lincoln for the first time in a long time. After I picked them up, we came home and had dinner before taking a walk/bike down to Aldi for a few bits and pieces (my 52 Project photo this week).

Tuesday the girls when to their Grandad and Grandma’s house for dinner. I was going to head straight home and have some time to myself but that didn’t pan out! Instead I ended up going to Tesco, then heading to see my mum, then going to the Post Office and by the time I’d done that it was almost time that the girls would be setting off to come home so I popped in to see them and offer a lift home! Once the kids were in bed, Nat popped around. We spent the whole night chatting and it was good to see her so early in the week!

Wednesday Megan had another school to see, a prospective one for Secondary School. This was her third and when I asked her which she was preferring so far, she answered me with “it doesn’t matter, I’m waiting for my letter to Hogwarts” which I have to admit amused me. We went out for dinner in North Hykeham with my mum – the girls and I that is, and then Megan went off with mum to view the school while Lily and I came home to Chris.

On Thursday it was the kids’ dad’s turn to have them for dinner but at the last minute we found other there was another open evening for Megan. After a little juggling, the kids’ dad picked them up from school and took them to Grandma and Grandad’s for dinner, before my mum picked up Megan just before 6pm and took her to view the school. The kids’ dad brought Lily home for about 7 and after Lily and I spent a little time together, she went to bed. I waited for Mum and Megan to get home, got a bit of an update on the school and then Megan went to bed. Mum and I had a bit of a chat before she left too.

By Friday I was very glad it was the weekend. I’d had a bad few days at work and I was feeling fed up. Early in the week I’d also started to try planning Florida with Amy but with one thing or another, that all sort of went out the window. Anyway Friday night we all just chilled out. The girls played on their computers, Chris had invited our friend Jon around and due to me having such a bad week, Nat came around again. It was honestly just what I needed though and I went into the weekend feeling much better.

Saturday I got a bit of a lay-in and felt so much better for it. When I did get up though, I felt a little sluggish and lazy. As such, we had a very lazy morning, before heading out for lunch at Subway, then a wander around Gainsborough. I bought some new work trousers, Megan got a dress and Lily got an Anna t-shirt. It was a fairly successful shopping trip haha. When we got home, I did a fair bit of online shopping and spent all my wages before even getting them (they’re not till this Wednesday!). Then when Chris got home, we all had a movie night and watched Hotel Transylvania, ate pizza, popcorn etc and just hung out as family.

Feels like we have barely seen Chris this week and Sunday was no different. He was out at work majority of the day so the morning the girls spent on the computer while I made some jewellery. After lunch we headed out to mum’s house and went swimming with her at Burton Waters. We eventually headed home around 5pm and Chris had got back from work just before us. We all chilled out to watch some TV together, catching up on everything from X Factor to Tomorrow People.

All in all its been an incredibly stressful week, which as I said, I don’t really want to talk about. However its a shame really because there has been some big highlights, including getting plans started for Florida, feeling a bit better organised financially and starting properly on my Christmas shopping. Sadly Chris’ shifts have been rubbish and he’s home most days and out most nights, where I’m the opposite. The girls being out 3-4 nights this week was a lot too. I’m very glad to see the back of this week and move on to the next one!

I can’t believe that another week has passed by! 7 weeks of 2014 gone by in a flash! It’s been a busy sort of a week, but at the same time I’m pleased its gone by so fast as its been the last week of work/school before half term (which we’re now officially in – woohoo!).

Monday it snowed! For quite a while too, though it didn’t end up settling for long. I was at work but I took out the bins, just to dance in the snow! My friend Nat came around in the evening and we discussed a Blog that we are thinking of starting together! Tuesday we had decided to try out the new KFC in Gainsborough. The kids, Chris and I all got a 10 piece bucket and munched away on it at home.

Wednesday I took part in my first ever LBloggers Twitter chat! It was a lot of fun and I’m hoping to participate again soon! Chris and I also decided that we would buy each other fence panels for Valentine’s Day (not even joking!). The terrible wind we’ve had these last few months has caused absolute havoc.

Thursday we went to buy said fence panels, only to find out that the standard panels for sale at B&Q wouldn’t actually fit! We did however buy an M&S meal for £20 and enjoyed that the same evening. I also tried to re-ombré my hair, but guess what… it didn’t work again! My blog hit 300 followers that day too! On top of that my Blogiversary Giveaway ended and I announced the winner the following day!

Friday was Valentine’s Day, which I wrote about here already. It was the last day of work and school (a celebration in itself), the kids and I had takeaway and a movie night, it was a Perfect Day. Saturday we had a small, couples only, Murder Mystery. It was called Sour Grapes of Wrath, a Murder Mystery for 6 people and it was free to download. It was really nice to get together with friends, the murder mystery itself was pretty good and it made a refreshing change not to have to go all out on costume!

Also, we actually got ourselves fence panels! As it was so windy earlier in the week, we’d only lazily measured the panels. I got off my butt and measured them properly on Saturday, so Chris and I headed to B&Q to buy 3 new ones. At some point we’ll have to replace the other 5 but at least that’s not such a rush.

Noticed as I was taking the pic that one of the panels is the opposite way around to the other two!

Sunday I managed a sort of lie in (the kind where you force yourself back to sleep every half an hour). I then picked up the kids from mum’s, bringing them home only to end up cooking endless cakes all afternoon. The kids then headed off to their dad’s for a few days and Nat came around again to discuss our blog!

I love this picture of the kids on Sunday – a beautiful sunny day – as we walked to the local shop for eggs.

I had a lovely week and I’m looking forward to this one to come. It’s half term now and I’m looking forward to catching up with friends, working on my blog, spending time with the kids and Chris, relaxing and enjoying some time off! I hope you all have a nice week!

I am seriously very excited right now! Last night I hit 200 followers, which is such a difference from the 53 I had only 4 weeks ago! Not only has it made me feel like you can do anything if you really try, but also it has really motivated me to do more with my blog – long overdue posts that have been running around in my head, finally getting put down on the screen. I have several of them planned for this week in fact.

Anyway, on to my weekly round up! I covered a lot of what was happening in my life, in my post Happy February. However there has been the odd thing here and there that I haven’t mentioned.

Monday through Friday was fairly standard. School run, work, school run, dinner, collapse in a tired heap on the sofa. Monday I did get a little time to myself as the kid’s dad had them for a few hours after school and Chris was at work. I nipped to Sainsbury’s, Asda, Tesco and then Aldi (and bought my ombré hair dye). I also called in to my mum’s for a cup of tea and ended up staying two hours! My brother and I then spent a few hours catching up on OUAT Season 3 (and several other nights this week too!). Thursday was a little different in that I worked some overtime at work. It’s not usually something I do, but since Chris was working anyway and it was being offered, I figured I’d go for it. Pretty sure I’ll end up doing this week too! Friday started off as a horrible day, for reasons I won’t go into here. However it ended up as a lovely evening, when we all had a movie night.

Saturday and Sunday were lovely as Chris had two days off work, meaning we got to spend the weekend as a family for once. Sadly I didn’t get a lay-in on either day (despite it being much needed) but both day times were fairly relaxing so I can’t complain too much.

Those of you who have been following my blog for some time now, will know that we are in the process of doing up the house in order to eventually sell it. Though we haven’t done much over the last few months, Chris and I have spoken about starting to get back into the swing of things. This weekend I asked if he would mind putting up the kids coat hooks (a job that technically could have been done when we moved in in July) and also to change the light fitting in the kitchen. Both these jobs got done about half an hour after I asked him – he’s definitely a keeper!

Left to Right: The girls hooks, the light fitting originally, Chris doing his stuff, the new light fixture!

Finally on Sunday I spent most of the day sorting out my hair. In the morning I gave it a cut, then over lunch and into the afternoon, I ombré dyed it. Since I’m going to make a whole post about that, I won’t share the results just yet!

As part of my relaxing day Sunday, while doing my hair, I also started to read a new book. I technically haven’t finished the last one yet, but since it really wasn’t pulling me in and I was finding that I wasn’t reading at all, I started a new one instead. The new book is called “Love You More” and so far I’m really enjoying it.

So that was my week last week and now I’m onto the next! I still can’t believe we’re into February already but I guess time flies! Look out for upcoming posts; Cards Against Humanity Review, Ombre Hair, The Girls Shop Next, Greek biscuits and more!

So as of tomorrow, everything pretty much returns to normal. I say pretty much because Chris is still technically off work sick until 14th. Anyway, as of tomorrow I’ll be back at work (I have been for the last two days anyway) and the girls will be back at school. Since I knew everyone was feeling a little on edge about the end of Christmas break, I decided that tonight would be a good chance to have a movie night.

I was heading to Tescos after work anyway, so within my shopping I picked up a pizza, some dough balls, prawn toast, popcorns, doritos, along with a few sweets and chocolates. Yes, I appreciate that makes for a terrible dinner overall, but that’s sort of the point and the fun of these very rare movie nights that we have.

Anyway one of the girls got Monsters University for Christmas (along with Despicable Me 2, Smurfs 2 and Tinkerbell and the Secret of the Wings) and it was the only movie they were bought which we hadn’t already seen at the cinema. So at about 5pm we settled down to watch, all four of us sharing the same sofa – eating, chatting occasionally and enjoying the movie.

Not going to lie. I cried. I always cry at movies though so its really no big shocker. It was a good movie though and a lot better than I had been expecting, despite my deep love of Disney. Afterwards I put the girls to bed and as expected there were tears. Wishes of not having to go back to school, wishes they could always be with me, etc. etc. It was sweet but at the same time heartbreaking. Luckily I know that them going to school is just something that has to happen, not like when I get upset about going to work (that isn’t the law!). It was still sad anyway though so we spent quite a long time chatting and snuggling in bed before finally I said goodnight and turned off the lights. I still have lunchboxes to pack and PE bags to sort but come tomorrow everything will be back as it was.

I’m not going to lie, I’m glad its only a 6 week term as I’m already looking forward to February break. I think we’ll be going away anywhere this coming school holiday but I definitely want to do at least one really special thing as a family.